Today, quite a lot of people like to plant indoor flowers at home. Someone does it for sale, but there are those for whom this lesson brings incredible pleasure. The most important thing is to know how to do it right.
In order for the plants to be beautiful, it is necessary to carefully care for them. If you provide the dracaena with the right conditions, you can increase the life of the flower to ten years. In form, the culture of this species is more like a palm tree. It is also called lucky bamboo because it looks like a Chinese symbol of well-being. In this review, we will take care of dracaena at home.
Primary requirements
The main distinguishing feature of dracaena is a rosette of striped or green leaves on top. A striking feature can also be considered the transverse strips on the stems.
In order for the plant to please its owners with a well-groomed appearance over the long years of life, it needs to create the right conditions. The acidity of the soil should be neutral. You can check this indicator using indicator strips. Also you can buy soil with the necessary pH value in a flower shop. The following proportions can be used to prepare the substrate: 3 parts of garden soil, 2 parts of peat, 1 part of sand. You can also use a mixture of sand, humus and peat. For growing plants, any stable pot is suitable. The container for planting dracaena in height should reach 25 cm, and in diameter - 20 cm.
Requirements for temperature, humidity and light
How to grow a flower Dracaena? Caring for this thermophilic plant involves keeping it at a temperature of 19 to 25 degrees Celsius. In a cold room, the plant may simply die. You also need to monitor the level of humidity. Dry air can adversely affect the growth of dracaena. As a rule, the plant also develops well in partial shade. But development under such conditions will be a little slowed down. Variegated species require more light. The best option is to place a dracaena near a window oriented to the west or east. If they go south, the plant is better protected from direct sunlight.
How to water?
Many housewives are interested in such a flower as dracaena. Home care for this plant provides for regular watering. The optimal interval is every other day. It is not permissible for the earth in the pot to become dry. In addition to watering, dracaena also requires frequent spraying with settling water. In summer, the flower should be irrigated daily. Dust may accumulate on the leaves. In this case, it is recommended to use a cotton swab or napkin.
Fertilizer and fertilizing
Dracaena care provides for regular nutrition of healthy substances. Usually this procedure is carried out twice a month. You can alternate mineral fertilizers with organics. The nutritional composition is usually added to water for irrigation. Dracaena are highly sensitive to chlorine and fluorine. Therefore, it is better to select fertilizers that do not contain these elements. For irrigation, it is not recommended to use chlorinated water.
How to transplant
What other procedures might an indoor dracaena require? Care must include a transplant. When the plant becomes cramped in the old tub, it must be placed in a more spacious pot. The flower is extracted very carefully, along with the root lump. The bottom of the new tank should be prepared in advance. For this purpose, gravel, ceramic debris or pieces of polystyrene are laid on it.
Here is an example of the steps to take when replanting a plant:
- Drainage from above is covered with a layer of washed sand and part of a previously prepared soil.
- The root ball is installed in the pot. On the sides you can add soil.
- Water should be watered properly.
- It is necessary to add a substrate. 1.5 cm should remain to the top edge.
- At the final stage, the soil should be compacted and sprinkled with a layer of peat.
Before reaching the age of three years, the dracaena should be transplanted every year. Then the procedure can be performed less frequently. At the same time, experts recommend changing the top layer of earth in a pot once a year.
How to care for dracaena in winter?
What else should you know for those interested in dracaena? Home care, photos of adult plants, requirements for conditions in the cold season - this information is usually required by potential owners of this flower. As for the content of the flower in winter, in a warm room it will be the same as in summer. Best of all, he will tolerate cold at a temperature of 15 degrees. The amount of spraying and watering should be reduced to once every seven days. If the air in the room is too dry and warm, then the frequency of watering can be increased. In winter and autumn, the plant does not require additional feeding.
Breeding
How is dracaena growing? Home care and reproduction do not include any complex labor-intensive processes. As a material for cuttings, branches extending from the central stem are quite suitable. The main thing is to separate 12 cm of the top. The rest is cut into 7 cm cuttings. On the mother plant, the cut is treated with ash and crushed charcoal. In the future, new shoots may appear at this place.
The resulting cuttings should be rooted in a glass of water or a pot of wet sand. On the cut top, the leaves are shortened, leaving 5-7 cm each. The air temperature in the room should not fall below 20 degrees. You can also cover the cuttings with a film on top. It must be removed every day to spray the substrate or ventilate. After 3-4 weeks, rooting will occur, and after a couple of months you will be able to see new shoots. They can be divided and transplanted into different containers.
What else should you know about dracaena breeding and home care? Reproduction using seeds is usually used exclusively by specialists. If you still manage to buy them, then before planting it is necessary to soak in warm water. Five days later, the seeds can be sown in moist soil. It is best to plant them in plastic boxes with lids or miniature greenhouses. They germinate long enough.
Growing problems
What problems can be associated with the cultivation of such a flower as dracaena? Home care, reproduction and normal development conditions are quite simple and do not require special preparation. However, some difficulties in the growing process may still arise.
In a dry room, the leaves of the plant may turn yellow and fall. Another possible reason for this may be cold air and draft. In a month, under normal conditions, the plant may lose a couple of leaves. Incorrectly selected fertilizers or the presence of fluoride in water can lead to brown and yellow spots. If the plant looks sick, it should be removed from the pot. Damaged and rotten roots are removed. Further, dracaena can be transplanted. After this process, the plant needs moderate watering and regular irrigation.
The cause of burns can be sunlight. In this case, it is better to choose another place for the flower. If brown spots appear on the ends of the leaves, increase the amount of water when watering. Make sure that the soil in the pot is always slightly moistened. Excessive watering can also have negative consequences. In combination with a decrease in temperature, it can lead to complete death of the plant.
Diseases and Pests
Care for Dracaena must necessarily include the fight against diseases. This plant is rarely attacked by pests. But many modern varieties still have a high sensitivity to a number of infections. So, with a fungal infection, rotting of the roots and base of the stem can be observed. The formation of black and red spots on the leaves can be a consequence of a disease such as fusarium. In this case, the plant must be treated with biofungicide, and the soil with a solution of wood ash.
If white threads appeared in the base of the leaves, then most likely the plant was attacked by a spider mite. In this case, the plant should be wiped with a cloth soaked in a solution of laundry soap, and then washed under a warm shower. If there has been a defeat by the mealybug, then the dracaena should also be treated with a soap solution. After that, the flower is sprayed with an insecticide containing pyrethrin.
Dracaena: varieties
Dracaena is considered an exotic plant. Such a flower will easily fit into the interior of a living room or office. There are several varieties of this plant. The fringed dracaena, or Marginata, has a rosette of thin leaves. With a good plant, the flower retains its decorative qualities for a long time. This species requires good lighting. Colorama is characterized by a pronounced crimson hue. Dracena Bicolor is characterized by a spectacular combination of green and pink. This variety also needs good lighting and frequent spraying. The view of Fragrang, or fragrant dracaena, is distinguished by glossy leaves in the form of a lancet. There are also varieties with two-color and three-color leaves.
Conclusion
Dracaena is very popular among home growers. The plant will be in good harmony with dieffenbachia, variegated varieties of chlorophytum. Caring for Dracaena does not cause much difficulty. The main thing is to choose a well-lit place. The plant requires regular watering and irrigation. Also, to preserve a thick rosette of leaves, experts recommend rinsing the dracaena with warm water from time to time. When buying a flower, pay attention to the leaves. The main thing is that their ends are not dry. A healthy dracaena with proper care can maintain its decorative qualities for up to ten years.